Wereys O45s lose out in top tier tie; all now to play for in Tier 2
26 November 2023: The Wereys travelled to a wet and misty Plymouth for round two of the England Hockey O45s Tier 1 Masters Championships. We knew Plymouth Marjons would be a strong side, having narrowly beaten us in the quarter finals last season.
Wereys started confidently and had good possession of the ball but unfortunately the finishing in the D just wasn’t clinical enough, opportunities were thwarted, and penalty corners slipped away unconverted. Conversely, in the first half Plymouth scored twice from two well-worked corner routines giving them a 2-0 advantage at half time.
New manager Sheriden encouraged closer-knit play, working in triangles, and early releasing of the ball going into the second half. There were patches of some lovely flowing play but despite all Wereys efforts, disappointingly we were not gelling together in our usual fashion. Plymouth added a sneaky third goal with five minutes left on the clock but Wereys’ heads didn’t go down – it wasn’t yet over.
A penalty corner awarded to Wereys, smashed in by Cath, and just a minute later a second corner earned, again beautifully converted by Cath. Was the tide turning? However sadly the final whistle came before Wereys could capitalise further on this momentum.
On a positive though, Wereys now qualify for the O45s Tier 2 competition with the next match being on Sunday 10 December, away to Rugby & East Warwickshire Hockey Club (away again!☹)
Captain Anji
